punchoutfandomcom-20200223-history
Talk:Little Mac
About the SNES boxer I have been thinking about the SNES boxer and wondering if he really is meant to be Little Mac or not. Most fans of the Punch-Out!! series (especially those who started with and fondly remembered the Mike Tyson version of the NES Punch-Out!! titles) don't believe he is Little Mac, because of his look being quite different compared to the NES/Wii versions of Little Mac. It is also because of the name entry feature of the SNES Super Punch-Out!! causing many to be confused whether it is naming the boxer or the save folder, as some games with battery-backed memory make players either name the folder, the protagonist or both, depending on which game they are playing. When he was named Little Mac in EA's Fight Night Round 2 during Nintendo's and EA's deal with adding Nintendo characters to GCN versions of EA Sports games, many thought EA named him, because of the nature of a third-party title making it uncanon, like the last name of Ryu from the Street Fighter series, Hoshi, being used in the American Street Fighter animated series. There is no evidence to prove who actually named him Little Mac in Fight Night Round 2, but he was most likely used instead of the NES version, due to the SNES Super Punch-Out!! being the newest game in the Punch-Out!! series back then. When the SNES Super Punch-Out!! was added to the Virtual Console in North America and the PAL regions, his name was officially confirmed to be Little Mac; however, his name was never mentioned in the manual section of the Virtual Console version; however, it was probably written in technical terms. Although official, many fans thought of it being a retcon. His name was also mentioned in the official European/British magazine, Official Nintendo Magazine. In a Nintendo Power interview with Bryce Holliday and other designers of the 2009 Punch-Out!! Wii title, Bryce said that there is no Little Mac in the Super Punch-Out!! universe. Despite that, in the history section of the official website for the 2009 Punch-Out!! Wii title, the blond boxer was referred to as Little Mac. I currently don't know if the blond boxer was named Little Mac in the Japanese Wii Shop Channel details section for the SNES Super Punch-Out!!, but at the Virtual Console website, his name was never mentioned; however, like the Virtual Console manual, it was probably written in technical terms. Here are some theories that may prove him to either be the same Little Mac from the NES and Wii titles or not. * His look being different from his NES/Wii counterpart must be a reference to how the wire boxer from the Punch-Out!! arcades changed his hair-do from the first Punch-Out!! arcade to the Super Punch-Out!! arcade. The Punch-Out!! arcade wire boxer's hair-do and NES Little Mac's hair-do appear to be plain looking, while the Super Punch-Out!! arcade wire boxer's hair-do and the SNES Little Mac's hair-do appear to be blocky. * Some boxers in the SNES Super Punch-Out!! share several things in common with the ones from previous games, which they are probably successors. Some examples are Gabby Jay being Glass Joe's successor, Heike Kagero being Great Tiger's and Aran Ryan either being Pizza Pasta's or Piston Hurricane's. However, this may lead to many thinking that the SNES boxer being a different Little Mac, much like the many different Links in the Zelda franchise. * His jumping uppercut, the Star Punch, was modified and renamed Knockout Punch, probably due to the SNES boxer appearing to be grown tall enough to no longer send the jumping uppercut against opponents that are a lot taller than him. His Knockout Punch appears to be the horizontal version of the Star Punch. Although, calling the blond boxer Little Mac doesn't make much sense, he is probably still called that by many fictional fans or himself to fondly remember himself originally being a small boxer, like how Namco uses Pac-Man as their mascot to remember the arcade game he originated from as Namco's first large success. * Doc Louis not appearing in the SNES Super Punch-Out!! must be a reference to Rocky Balboa being left alone from his coach Mickey, after he suffered a heart attack. This is probably the only Rocky Balboa reference besides the jogging scene from the NES Punch-Out!! being a reference to Rocky Balboa's jogging scenes. Although, it doesn't prove that Doc Louis died, it can prove that he left Little Mac alone for some reason. * The SNES boxer's look being different from the NES/Wii Little Mac's look is probably one of them design flaws, like how Ryu from the Street Fighter series lost his red shoes from the 1987 Street Fighter arcade and moved on without wearing them. In the beta version of the SNES Super Punch-Out!!, his look is completely different compared to his look in the full version. Combining that with the fact that Nintendo IRD's hardest task was working on both the SNES Super Punch-Out!! and Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II leads me to thinking they were rushing both games out. Rushing games out can cause errors like this. This info may be helpful, but like the relationship between Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Cranky Kong, and the plot connections between the Zelda titles, it's one of them Nintendo mysteries that only fans can decide for themselves. The SNES Super Punch-Out!! was the first game in the series I've played, and I enjoy the SNES boxer a lot. I don't think he's a Super Saiyan Brian Peppers wannabe, but I do think the NES/Wii Little Mac to be a Shaggy (Scooby-Doo)/Rocky Balboa wannabe, Giga Mac an Incredible Hulk wannabe, and Doc Louis a Fat Albert wannabe. I miss seeing his winning taunt and moves, and I wish that Nintendo and Next Level would remake the SNES Super Punch-Out!!. 1983parrothead 10:14, November 10, 2009 (UTC) Funny Trivia If Mac's 17 in the Wii version, and it's been 15 years... doesn't that mean Mac was 2 in the NES version? If so, then the name "Little Mac" makes more sense than ever. —Darkus R. 17:57, March 16, 2015 (UTC)